Islanders at Kings projected lineups, Digi Mart USA News: The projected lineups for the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings are set for Thursday’s game, according to a publisher preview from NHL.com.
Emil Heineman, Brayden Schenn and Victor Eklund open on the Islanders’ top line, with Ondrej Palat, Casey Cizikas and Anthony Duclair on the second. Matias Maccelli, Kyle MacLean and Mitchell Chaffee round out the forward group for New York.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau was ruled out after taking part in the morning skate, leaving the Islanders’ forward lines in flux. The preview says New York could use 11 forwards and seven defensemen in his absence.
Maccelli returns after missing nine games with a lower-body injury, and Alexander Pulock has not played since Oct. 29 because of an upper-body injury.
Mathew Barzal, Alexander Romanov and Cal Ritchie are also listed as injured for New York. Kenny Connors, a forward, was assigned to Ontario of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
For Los Angeles, Artemi Panarin, Alex Laferriere and Adrian Kempe form one forward line, while Kevin Fiala, Quinton Byfield and Mats Zuccarello make up another. Fiala will make his season debut after fracturing his left leg while playing for Team Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February and undergoing a follow-up procedure in September.
Doughty will play after taking a slap shot off his right ankle in the third period of a 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. He finished that game but missed practice on Wednesday.
